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When thinking about how I enjoy my time in the kitchen, it usually comes when I'm baking. Mainly because my brain does better with exact measurements than it does with throwing things in a pot and hoping it all works out. Having had a sweet tooth for as long as I can remember I'm always excited by the dessert course, but now enjoy when they have more of a savory element to them. We dined at a local cafe this past Friday and my eyes widened as I gazed upon the well lit confectionary case. On our way home we started the debate what makes the better sweet end to a meal: cake or pie? How does one compare things that can be so different? As my husband pointed out, I would have to make the comparisons as equitable as possible: from 'point of sale origin' to cost of treat.

I can't compare a standard quarter sheet cake from the grocery chain to a scratch made pie from the local bakery that's been around for 25 years with a strong following. Comparing the grocery store basics - vanilla birthday cake vs. apple pie - cake would win more often than not for me; really only because I'm not a HUGE fan of apple pie. French silk pie is a different story. At the local cafe, however, that makes all their pastries on site comparisons are a little harder to do. Pie would win in this case. The buttery crust of a warm piece of apple pie that flakes apart and melts in your mouth upon hitting your tongue would beat out the large slice of vanilla cake.

Going back & forth, while one may (eventually) win more times than the other, both cake and pie would have a fair showing in this fight. In choosing one victor in the battle, I would have to choose pie. While cake comes in many varieties, the options for pie (at least as they appear to me at the moment) seem to be far more varied; the options for different crusts & fillings and their subsequent combinations would provide much more room for experimentation of flavors and palate satisfaction.

...Eating is the only form of professionalism most people ever attain. - Don Delillo

I'm suddenly reminded of a friend who worked for a womens magazine telling me about a survey they did for a story, asking women in some mall or similar public situation what they would rather have, cake or sex? One woman responded by asking, "regular sex or vacation sex?" Caught by surprise, the reporter suggested they make it vacation sex, to which the woman then said, "Okay, so what flavor cake?"

Lacking your sweet tooth, I would have to say that I find most commercially made desserts overly sweet, and I don't like frostings, custards or cream fillings or toppings. Taking all that off the table, not much is left except fruit pies. So, pie for me.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

I may, or may not, be an anomaly. I'm just not much of a sweets eater of any kind except for a few bites of my "medicinal" dark chocolate with my morning coffee. When it comes to dessert, just give me another glass of wine.

But on the occasions when I do have dessert, when it's cake it's cheesecake, or one of those chocolatey liquid center things. When it's pie, it's usually not fruit, more like graham cracker cream or pecan.

After a really fine meal for the sake of the meal, I look forward to a really good cup of coffee and something sweet Tarte tatin is nice even though I'm not much for fruit pies.

Jenise wrote:I'm suddenly reminded of a friend who worked for a womens magazine telling me about a survey they did for a story, asking women in some mall or similar public situation what they would rather have, cake or sex? One woman responded by asking, "regular sex or vacation sex?" Caught by surprise, the reporter suggested they make it vacation sex, to which the woman then said, "Okay, so what flavor cake?"

That made me laugh!

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

Daisy, I agree. A lot of variables come into play. Is it fresh, is it ala mode, is it French Silk? With cake, I've been disappointed a lot in restaurants. Too dry, too dense, too rich, too sweet, too something. Like Fred, I do like the lava cakes but sometimes those can be too runny! I'm not crazy about apple pie either, unless it's super fresh, with Macintosh apples and not too much cinnamon, and a rich buttery crust. Oh and make it warm with vanilla ice cream. I am a huge blueberry pie fan and haven't had too many disappointments there, so I would say pie.

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

When I was young, I had dinner at my girl friend's house. She had 4 sisters. Her paternal grandmother, who had 5 sons, was also at the dinner. The grandmother told me, flat out, "Girls like cake, boys like pie". I've always preferred pie, as do my 5 sons.

If the question is what to eat after a meal, lighter is always better so I would have to say pie. Or even better, a custard of some sort.

However if the question is which confection is more interesting, I would have to say cake, as they can get more complex and display more of the baker's skill. However increasingly I find that these cakes are best enjoyed in the afternoon, as a snack. Which is of course the custom in Germany, with my wife's family, where they never eat confections after dinner but rather in the afternoon with coffee.

Jenise wrote:I'm suddenly reminded of a friend who worked for a womens magazine telling me about a survey they did for a story, asking women in some mall or similar public situation what they would rather have, cake or sex? One woman responded by asking, "regular sex or vacation sex?" Caught by surprise, the reporter suggested they make it vacation sex, to which the woman then said, "Okay, so what flavor cake?"

Lacking your sweet tooth, I would have to say that I find most commercially made desserts overly sweet, and I don't like frostings, custards or cream fillings or toppings. Taking all that off the table, not much is left except fruit pies. So, pie for me.

Not much of a dessert fancier, either, but on those rare occasions when I do have a dessert it'll be a slice of pie or tart rather than cake. Fruit pies are preferred and overly sweet versions are disparaged. All in all, though, I'd rather eat cheese!

Cake? Nope, too dense, too sweet. Now pie is another story. It must be home made. My favorite is coconut cream pie made by a dear friend. My other favorite is a pear pie made by our next door neighbor who has died but the men in the family make a few for us when their pear tree has a good year. The men also make the best apple pies for us when their apple tree has a good year. I am not a baker, but I do keep breakfast muffins and cookies in the freezer for Gene. On occasion, I have made a few things, a family recipe for Sherry Cream Pie is a favorite, and is over 70 years old. Some sort of a lemon thing made by a fireman in San Francisco is wonderful, and I enjoy making that. When our lemon tree gives us lemons, I make a lot of lemon bars for us and our neighbors...they are very good. When I started putting lemon zest into the crust, they got even better.

Funny, but I really have to think about this one. First off, I'm not a big fan of fruit pies. I like them but they don't really excite me. There's a caramel-pine nut-rosemary tart that my wife makes that's the kind of thing I REALLY like, and that would certainly be more of a pie than a cake.

For me, a cake has to be of very high quality before it matches a good tart (and there's a lot of bad cake out there). A good cake has to be moist, well-flavored, and the frosting has to match it well. I tend to prefer a denser, three-plus layer cake over a lighter one with just a couple of layers. Frosting has to be first-rate buttercream, Italian meringue, or maybe a cream cheese version. All aspects of the cake have to be well-made and they have to work well together but when that happens, I find that superior to pretty much any pie.

Is it a vacation with my husband? Does tart fit into the pie category? I need a bit more clarity.

"...To undersalt deliberately in the name of dietary chic is to omit from the music of cookery the indispensable bass line over which all tastes and smells form their harmonies." -- Robert Farrar Capon